Hopeless
by r4d1c4lization
Summary: When the kingdom of Greeton decides to declare war on both Aeriglyph and Aquaria, Albel and Nel are sent to team up and destroy their new weapon. But when fate turns against them and all seems lost...is it really?
1. Mission

A/N: So yeah, I've written fanfics in the past, but had nothing to do with them….so I just hung on to them with nobody to read them…at least, nobody who understood wtf was going on :x

Now that I have this account, I can actually get feedback about my stories :D yay!!!!

So, yeah, disclaimerz seem to be quite common around here, soooo…………I don't own Star Ocean!! Though it'd be quite interesting if I did…first thing I'd do is give Albel less of a…girly outfit. That way losers will quit making fun of him - he's too awesome to make fun of! D:!

……*shuts up and begins the fic*

* * *

Albel frowned. This was incredibly odd. It wasn't often nowadays that the king would call him for something. It was quite inconvenient, too - he'd had to come all the way from Kirlsa for whatever this was. He'd already decided in advance that it didn't matter if it _was_ the king - this had better be important, or someone was going to die.

Or at least be seriously injured. One of the two.

As he rounded the corner to go into the room that had been once used to draw up war plans, he immediately froze and stared, wide-eyed, at the 3 people already seated around the table.

Immediately, all of them looked up at him. One grinned and waved in an over-the-top fashion. "Hi, Albel!" she called in a cheery tone.

He immediately winced as Farleen's voice grated against his eardrums. And he didn't bother to hide it, either.

"Isn't this great?!" she continued, oblivious to his reaction. "We can sit and talk with no worries! We're not enemies anymore!"

_That's what you think, maggot…_ he thought, snickering at the idea of making the annoying runt shut up once and for all.

"I'd suggest you hush, Farleen."

Albel immediately looked over to the source of the new voice. Nel was looking at him, a small smile - wait, no, scratch that, it was more of a smirk - slipping to her face. "If you haven't noticed, Albel's not exactly a….people person."

The girl next to her laughed. "True!" Tynave yelled, running a hand through her short-cut hair. "He looks ready to slice someone's head off!"

Nel laughed quietly. "I wouldn't be surprised…it wouldn't be the first time."

It had been two years since he had seen these girls - and then, they had been his enemies. Hell, he'd already tried to kill them, but that was to be expected. It had been _war_. And while he hadn't received the nickname "Albel the Wicked" for no reason, that didn't mean he was going to attack three girls simply for attacking his ego like they had.

Quite the contrary - he managed to remain quite calm. Despite the fact that he had no clue why.

"What…are you doing here?" he growled. Just because he didn't plan to attack them didn't mean they didn't annoy him. Especially that Farleen girl, all she had to do was speak a single word…

"Please, allow us to explain."Albel immediately jumped in surprise. It wasn't often that people managed to sneak up on him, and even less often that it happened in the castle of Aeriglyph. It bothered him that it had been so easy.

Upon turning, he saw both his ruler, the King of Aeriglyph, and his ex-enemy, the Queen of Aquaria. It had been her quiet, calm voice that had surprised him so much.

"Take a seat, Albel," the king suggested, gesturing to an available on the other side of the table next to Nel. Scowling - he'd never been a fan of being told what to do - he walked around and sat down. It felt odd, being next to Nel again…

"It appears the kingdom of Greeton has decided to use their advanced technology to their advantage - to our dismay," the queen said quietly. "This not only means trouble for our kingdom, but for yours," she looked toward Albel, who responded with wide, curiously surprised eyes, "as well. They've declared war on us both, for reasons undisclosed to us."

"Are they stupid?" Albel asked, his smug laughter filling the room. "Taking own two countries just because they think their technology is better? Besides, don't you guys still have that…what did you call it? A runelogical weapon?"

"It's not that easy," the king responded. "You may not recall, but that weapon was demolished and rendered useless upon the defeat of those celestial ships. I don't see why you don't remember, seeing as how you would have died had it not been for that strange beam."Albel's gaze immediately dropped. He didn't like to remember that little detail. The helplessness he had felt, the fear that he had been about to die - in his eyes, they had been signs of weakness. And he didn't want to admit to being weak - especially not in front of Nel.

Why was he so concerned? He himself couldn't have answered that question.

"In any case," the queen continued, "we have decided that it would most definitely be in our best interests to join forces…again. And considering how well the two of you," she nodded toward Albel and Nel, "responded to the strange events of two years ago, we figured this would be absolutely no problem for you."

Albel shrugged. "That's fine. But why are _they_-" he nodded toward Tynave and Farleen - "here?"

"They're my subordinates," Nel interjected, "and a leader is only as good as their subordinates. I need them."

Albel scoffed. "I don't see why. I don't need anybody. Haven't had to worry about the annoyances of subordinates for years."

"That's probably because everybody refused to work under him," Tynave whispered, causing Farleen to giggle.

"That's enough," Nel responded harshly, glaring at them.

Was she defending him? Or was she just trying to make them act respectful in the presence of their queen?

"So," he finally said, glancing up at the king "what exactly did you want us to do?"

"Go into the kingdom…" he began.

"And demolish their machine." the queen finished.

* * *

So, how was it? Gosh, I feel nervous, this being my first fanfic published here and whatnot. Is it too short? I don't really knowwww, I'm not used to this!!! Dx

Eh, in any case, I thought that'd be an…interesting place to leave off. Gosh, how I love cliffhangers at the end of chapters. Not when I'm reading them, of course, but writing them is fun. :3

So yes, opinions and _supportive_ CnC is much appreciated! Flames will be shoved into flamethrowers to be used to ward off the forces of future flamers!!! …..Err…the forces of evil…yeah, let's go with that .

*prepares flamethrower* Bring 'em on o.o


	2. Traveling

So, yeah, chapter 2 (or 1 if you wanna consider the last one a prologue O.o) is here! o.o Not that anyone seems to care *looks where there should be a number for reviews and see's none* *sadface* D: T.T

….soya, anyway, chapter whatever-you-wanna-call-it should begin now!!! *stfu's*

DISCLAIMER: I doesn't own Star Ocean. Otherwise I'd be much better at keeping these people in character. XD

* * *

"Wow! I've never been here before! It's so pretty! Ooh, lookie lookie!! Check out these flowers; they're beautiful!"

Albel raised his hand to his face, shaking his head. "Someone make her shut up…" he mumbled, "I already have a headache."

Tynave looked back at him. "Oh? A little headache is going to take down Albel the Wicked?" She grinned. "That's so……_pathetic_."

"Oh, shut up." he growled. "How much farther do we have to go, anyway?"

"The first town should be just up ahead." Nel responded. "And if my sources are correct, their military ground is just beyond it. We'll rest up in town, and then head on to finish the mission.

Tynave stared at her incredulously. "You sure aren't wasting any time with this one, Lady Nel. Are you sure going in just a week after they actually declared war is a good idea?"

"The sooner we finish this, the better," she responded. "As peaceful as this field looks, it's still enemy territory. Every second we spend here could end up as the last second of our lives."

"That's not a very optimistic way to look at the situation," Farleen said, pouting.

"But it's an honest one. Are you maggots honestly so dense as to think that your optimism will keep us safe?" Albel's eyes narrowed, and he dropped his voice to a whisper as though the words he were about to speak were forbidden. "Or have you forgotten the time you spent in the Kirlsa training facility, all that time ago…?"

He watched, slightly amused, as the color drained from Tynave and Farleen's faces. _I knew that would shut them up,_ he thought.

"Never mention that again," Nel said darkly. She looked at him with an expression of pure hatred. "Do so, and I swear I will kill you right here."

Albel stopped, surprised. He had never seen Nel so angry before. And, to be completely honest…he didn't like it…in fact, he hated it.

"W-wait a second!" he stammered. _Shut up,_ he told himself, _just shut up…_ But since when did he ever listen to anyone, including himself? "I wasn't the one who caused all of that! Hell, I was the one who _let_ you leave!"

The only response he got from Nel was a glare before she continued walking, slightly faster than she had been before. Tynave and Farleen glanced at him quickly before running on ahead to catch up with her.

Sighing, he followed them, staying several feet behind. Now, they have to work together, thus making this the worst possible time to have an argument. But he still couldn't help but wonder - why did he care so much? It had been bothering him since they had randomly appeared that day in Aeriglyph. For some reason, he had become much more aware of what he said to them. Why? Normally, he would've just said whatever he thought, not caring who it might affect. But now…

He thought about it again. He hadn't thought twice about what he'd said at first. In fact, the reaction he'd received from Tynave and Farleen had been priceless. But once Nel had said that…he immediately regretted his words.

It wasn't the three girls who somehow affected him…it was Nel.

He laughed quietly, running his hands through his hair. "Ah…damn…I'm going soft…"

*** *** ***

There were voices. Why were their voices?? Nobody should be here.

Albel opened his eyes and found himself staring at the wall. Yawning, he sat up and stretched, assuming he had imagined it.

That is, until he saw the flashes of orange and purple out the corner of his eye.

"What the hell are you two doing in here?!" he yelled angrily. "Not only is it slightly disturbing that you're watching me sleep; you WOKE ME UP!"

"Sorry!" came the high-pitched response. Why couldn't Tynave have been the one to respond?

"To be honest, we didn't think you were actually sleeping. We only _just_ came in here."

Albel rolled his eyes. "Well, what do you want?"

Farleen bit her lip. "Well…it's about Lady Nel. You aren't mad because of what she said, are you? Like…you're still going to help us, right?"

He raised an eyebrow. Was she serious? "Why the hell would I let something so stupid get in my way? I've already resolved to finish this 'mission' or whatever the hell you choose to call it - I'll be damned before something another person says stops me."

Tynave grinned. "See, Farleen? I told you everything would be fine! He's too stubborn to let something like this get in his way!"

"Do you thrive on annoying me like some kind of child?"

"Yes."

Albel rolled his eyes. "Just get out of my room. Believe it or not, I actually _do_ sleep."

"Okay, okay. We're gone." The two turned to leave, much to his delight. But Tynave stopped just before reaching the doorway.

"By the way…" she began quietly, "She didn't mean it. I mean…she doesn't like that incident to be brought up, not only because it's painful…but because she feels it was a failure on her part. That she failed to protect us. That's why she got so angry. It wasn't so much for anything you did in particular." She sighed. "Knowing you, you probably don't care, but…I just wanted to let you know." And with that, she left.

Albel couldn't help but laugh quietly to himself. "Failure to protect her subordinates…that's…interesting."

He had to admit - while she did things he wouldn't be caught _dead_ doing, Nel's actions were, indeed, very interesting. Like how she'd gone back on her own to rescue them originally. It was incredibly stupid, for sure, but bold, too. It was proof enough that, if she were to become dedicated about something, she wouldn't abandon it no matter what.

He grinned. That made having her along for this mission much more reassuring.

And for some reason, knowing that Nel wasn't actually angry at _him_ reassured him even more.

_Damn it,_ he thought, _why am I thinking about her so much? It's starting to just become annoying…_

*** *** ***

Albel frowned. "How much farther?" he asked, his aggravation obvious in his voice.

"That's like the third time you've asked that," Tynave responded. "You're acting like a whiny child.""No, it's just that walking isn't the most practical method of travel," he countered with a glare. "And I'm getting sick of it."

"It should be close," Nel said, rolling her eyes. Tynave had grown quite accustomed to trying to start arguments with Albel, and he'd grown quick to retort each time. She'd become used to it, although it did get tiring after a while. "The main problem will be actually finding it. From what I've heard, it's hidden in a forest.""Great," Albel said sarcastically.

"What's the matter, Albel?" Farleen asked. "Don't you like forests?"

"Oh, yes. What's _not_ to like about being surrounded by trees, with no way of knowing where you are, not being able to see more than a few feet in front of you, and choked by some awful stench?"

"…Are you incapable of just saying "no"?" Tynave asked, while Farleen muttered a quiet "Not _all_ forests stink…" at the same time.

"To stupid questions, yes."

"In _any_ case," Nel interrupted, "if you're done being oblivious, you'll notice that we're practically there."

"Ugh. I was hoping we didn't have to go through that," Albel said, sighing. "I guess it can't be helped."

Nel smirked. "I knew everyone has some sort of pet peeve…but of all things, a forest? That's just…" She laughed. "Never mind." she finally said. "Let's go."

It was the first time she'd let her serious facade drop since they'd left.

*** *** ***

"Oh, god damn it!" Albel growled, "_This_ is why I hate forests!"

As he stood on one foot, trying to get the mud off of his shoe, the three girls couldn't help but snicker. "Oh, look how much he cares about his appearance!" Tynave whispered to Farleen, causing her to laugh more.

"Shut up, will you?" came the angry response, "Would you rather I left footprints all throughout this place that lead these people straight to us?"

"That's actually a good idea," Nel responded, trying to stifle her laughter.

"If it's such a good idea, then why are you laughing so much?!"

"You're acting…like a child." she responded, having stopped laughing, but the smile still remained on her face. "Come on," she finally said, "let's go."

Albel frowned. He wasn't acting childish…

…Okay, maybe that in itself _was_ just a bit childish…but that wasn't the point.

He couldn't help but be glad, though, that Nel was smiling. She had seemed pretty stressed about this whole ordeal, although nothing all too stressful had happened. While he tended to be laid back to _avoid_ getting so stressed out over things, it was obvious that Nel spent her time over-thinking everything and trying to overwork herself. She was definitely the definition of a workaholic.

_And the last thing we need right now is for her to crash out of exhaustion_, he thought with a smirk.

But somewhere inside, he could feel it - that wasn't why he was glad she was smiling. He _liked_ seeing her smile. _Why?_ he wondered. _Why do I think so much about everything she does…?_

* * *

Silly Albel, can't you realize why? …Well, I guess not, I guess he wouldn't be the kind of person to have experience with this kind of thing. XD

*waits for someone to actually be dense enough to ask "whaddaya mean by 'this kind of thing'???" xD

Anyway, yeah, I feel like I'm moving this thing along pretty quickly, but at the same time it's waaaaaay too slow…I'm really just filling up space right now, cuz I started writing this knowing how I wanted it to end, but no clue how to GET TO THAT POINT. Argh. My beginnings to stories always suck. I somehow lucked out with the first chapter, cuz I think it turned out pretty well. As for this chapter - _craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap x.x_

_Anyways, CnC is __always appreciated!!! I need all the help with my crappy beginning-of-stories writing skills I can get x.x_

_Keep in mind that flames will be laughed at and used to…hm…I used the flamethrower last time……so flames for this chapter will be used to make cookies for all of the people who leave nice reviews!!! =D_

_(*waits for the nice reviewers to hope for flames so they get cookies xD*)_


	3. Inevitable

**A/N:** Ahmehgawd, slooooooooooooow update!! Dx Blame school, and just overall lack of inspiration Dx

Anyway, here's chapter 3 of _Hopeless_, I hope you all like it!! *insert generic disclaimer & beg for reviews here*

Oh, and notice that I decided to name my chapters now x3 I even went back and named chapters 1 & 2, though their names aren't very well thought out xD

* * *

Albel watched Tynave pace with a frown. Her footsteps were beginning to annoy him. But he said nothing as he sat back against the wall and stared at the ceiling. It was better than sitting in silence, he figured, and certainly better than her annoying him with her comments again.

_Farleen and I will go in to find the weapon with these disguises on while you two keep watch here. Here's what we'll do - if we run into trouble, I'll send Farleen for you while I hold them off. If you run into trouble, send Tynave for us, while you hold them off. Hopefully that won't happen, but it's better to be safe than sorry._

He frowned. It was about the worst plan he had ever heard, but he went along with it anyway, as he couldn't think of anything better than charging in, and that idea had been out-voted 3-to-1.

He glanced over at the guard who had tried to come by on patrol earlier, laying unconscious on the ground. He'd wanted to kill him instead, but once again, that idea had been out-voted. If it weren't for the fact that Tynave could annoy him to no end so easily, he would've just ignored her and killed him anyway. But he didn't feel like putting up with the repercussion that would follow.

He frowned. A lot of good it did for him to come on this mission - he wasn't able to do anything.

It was then that he heard the footsteps behind him. He grabbed his sword and turned, but saw that it was only Farleen at the door. She looked panicked. "They found us!" she yelled breathlessly. "Hurry! I don't know how long Lady Nel will last! They-"

For reasons Albel himself couldn't explain, he found himself shoving Farleen out of his way, cutting off her sentence, as he ran down the hallway faster than he had ever ran before. As he flung the only door open, his eyes widened and his breath stopped for a was there, but she wasn't fighting them anymore. She was on the ground, motionless.

"How…did they defeat her so quickly…" he murmured. Realizing that he'd spoken aloud, attracting attention to himself, he mentally slapped himself. _Oh well,_ he thought, _I'm going to have to beat the shit out of these guys anyway!_

But as he ran toward them, an unfamiliar pain ripped through his shoulder. As a cry escaped him, he fell to the ground. _What the hell…was that…?_Pulling himself up, he looked at his attackers. It wasn't any of the soilders standing around, but a single man standing in the back of the room, wearing a mask and pointing at him with a strange weapon. He recognized the attire he wore immediately - _Vendeeni!_

Another shot was fired, and Albel dodged it with difficulty. _Alright, so for now, I'll ignore these small fry,_ he thought, dodging around more shots and the other soldiers' swords, _and take down that guy with the strange weapon. For now, he's the worst threat._

But he never got the chance to.

As he shoved past the last of the soldiers and ran toward the last man standing, there was a shot that he couldn't avoid. He crashed to the ground, wincing in pain. _Dammit…why…is this guy even here? If it weren't for that weapon…I could beat him…_

He noticed that his vision was beginning to blur. From only two shots? What kind of weapon was that, anyway? He turned his head, with difficulty, to see the doorway. Where were Tynave and Farleen?

He noticed blurs of color - purple, orange, blue, yellow…before he could try to figure out what they were, the colors left him as his vision became encased in darkness and he fell unconscious.

Albel's eyes opened slowly. _What happened…? Why am I in so much pain…?_

Suddenly remembering the reason, he sat up quickly, groaning in pain as he realized that was a bad idea.

"Ah, it's about time you woke up! We were worried!"

Albel turned his head to the source of the voice. "…_You!!!_ Why are you here?!"

Fayt shook his head. "That should be the least of your worries right now. Lay back down; you need rest!"

"Like hell!" he shouted in response. He reached out his arm to shove Fayt away, then winced, dropping his arm and grabbing his shoulder in pain. "Argh…damn it!"

"You need to rest," Fayt repeated, gently pushing him back down. Albel reluctantly let him.

"Those guys…" he finally murmured, "the Vendeeni…why are they here?""Good question," came another voice from the door. Albel glanced over to see Cliff there. So, he had come, too. "We have no idea what their motives are. All we know is that they're giving that country Greeton access to their technology for this war they've decided to start with Aeriglyph and Aquaria."

"I see…" he frowned. "So we don't know what they're after…" Something else suddenly occurred to him. "You guys found Nel, too, right? How is she?" He tried to sound nonchalant about it, but found himself sounding worried. It sounded odd, he noticed.

He noticed that both of their faces paled, and they adverted their eyes away from him.

_So, that's what happened…_

He frowned. How pathetic that they couldn't just tell him. And yet…

…And yet, he was glad he didn't have to hear the dreaded words…he didn't have to hear Nel's name, and the word "dead" in the same sentence. His mind went back to when he was informed that his father couldn't be saved…that he had died…the way he felt then, the sorrow that crept into his life…it was almost the same.

"I told her it was a stupid idea…"

He closed his eyes and let his head fall back onto the pillow, sighing. He began thinking about the things that had happened over the past week, finally managing to wrap his mind around a concept he had been wondering about for awhile. The reason he always found himself over-thinking things when it came to Nel…the fact that her death actually bothered him (as he had grown to not care when a subordinate or even someone of an equal rank lost their lives)…Could it possibly be that he…

Just then, the door slammed open. Tynave stomped in, her face a color hardly distinguishable from her hair. She went straight over to the bed and grabbed Albel by the front of his shirt, pulling him so that she was in his face. Albel found himself wincing at the pain that shot through his shoulder. "You…you idiot!" Tynave shouted. "It's your fault! Damn you!"

"Tynave!" Farleen yelled from the door. "Stop it; he's injured! You're hurting him!"

For once, Albel was glad to hear Farleen's voice. And he didn't care that she insinuated that someone was hurting him by such pitiful means - on the contrary, now, he just wanted Tynave to let go, and get out of his face…

"All the better," she hissed in response. "Why the hell did you guys even bother helping him, anyway?! It's because of _him_ that Lady Nel is _dead_!"

He snapped.

Before he even realized what he was doing, Albel found the claws at the end of his prosthetic arm at Tynave's throat. She gasped in surprise, but didn't move.

"I'd suggest you watch your tongue, maggot," he growled, "if you want to keep it in your mouth." The glare he was already unconsciously sending her worsened. "Now release me, and get out of my sight."

"…Hmph." Tynave did as she was instructed - she let Albel go, allowing him to fall violently back onto the bed. He winced again. She turned to leave; "Fine. Seeing you is making me sick, anyway."She walked through the door without another word. Farleen looked back at Albel sadly, mouthed the words "I'm sorry," and followed.

Cliff watched them leave wordlessly before looking back at Albel. "You alright? Does it feel like something came open again?"

Albel shook his head. "It's fine," he replied, though he found his voice sounding empty. It was like he dumped all of the emotion he had left into the anger and hatred he'd directed at Tynave.

He had been right - the words had affected him. But he'd known that, sooner or later, he would have to face them.

What he hadn't expected, however, had been to hear that it was _his_ fault…

_"__It's because of _him_ that Lady Nel is _dead_!"_

He closed his eyes, trying to block out the words. It wasn't his fault…this was one death he hadn't caused…

Two years ago, he would have been more than willing to kill Nel Zelpher.

Now here he was, mourning her death, trying to convince himself that it hadn't been his fault.

"There was nothing I could do…She saw how fast I left…I…"

"We know," Fayt said quietly. Albel opened his eyes, surprised. He hadn't realized that he had said any of that aloud. "It's fine. Tynave's just upset…I'm sure she'll apologize later."

Albel scoffed. "Who needs apologies…"

Fayt shrugged. "If that's how you feel…" He turned and started gathering some things. "Well, now that we know you're alright, you should get some sleep. You'll heal faster." He turned. "C'mon, Cliff."

Cliff nodded and stood. He noticed Albel's curious look. "We're going to let your king know what's going on," he said. "He should probably know that this "new weapon" Greeton has is from a whole other world."

Albel nodded. "I see…makes sense.""Alright. Then we'll see you later."

Alone, Albel found his thoughts drifting again. All of these things…these emotions…he hadn't felt most of them since he was young. But one stood out the most - one that was still familiar to him -

Anger.

And then from that emotion came something new:

A thirst for revenge.


End file.
